Ian Paisley criticised his British counterparts during a Commons debate on cross-border crime (Image: Reuters)

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British politicians treat their Northern Irish counterparts as "thick Paddies" who have no idea about what is going on in their country, Ian Paisley has said.

The North Antrim MP added that unionist and nationalist colleagues were "sick, sore and tired" of being fed hypocrisy by the shovel load when it came to tackling serious crime in Northern Ireland.

Mr Paisley said he had not seen a "single inch of progress" since 2009, adding they were no longer prepared to be fed "bull" on the matter.

He called for urgent action, as he warned officials are dragging their feet over the problem.

Speaking during a Commons debate on serious organised cross-border crime, Mr Paisley recalled how playwright Alan Bennett answered "English hypocrisy" when asked about the most important achievements of the nation on BBC Radio 4's the World at One.

Mr Paisley recalled how playwright Alan Bennett answered "English hypocrisy" when asked about the most important achievements of the nation

Mr Paisley said: "I am sick, sore and tired - and I think you've heard a unified voice from this side of the House, whether it's nationalist or unionist - about the hypocrisy that is fed to us by the shovel load.

"That we are somehow thick Paddies and have no idea about what's going on in our country when it comes to crime.

"You would think we were a bunch of suckers when it comes to how we deal with crime.

"We have lived amongst the criminals for decades. We see how they work. We see the evil they bring upon our society and we want it dealt with and we want it dealt with now.

"And we're saying that with a unified voice on this side of the House and across all parties, and we're no longer prepared to be fed, quite frankly, the bull we are being fed that this matter is being deal with and dealt with by officialdom.

"Alan Bennett was right when he pointed to hypocrisy because I see it in the officials that I meet daily and have met since 2009 and since entering this House when we've tried to deal quietly and discreetly with this issue of how we can tackle serious and organised crime in our society.

"All we get frankly is this hypocrisy - it will be dealt with, it will be dealt with.

"Well, five-and-a-half years later, it hasn't been dealt with and since 2009 when I came off the organised crime taskforce board I haven't seen one single inch of progress - but I've had a lot of platitudes.

"We on this side of the House are sick, sore and tired and we want something done and we want something done urgently, and we want something done that is effective and that actually does make a difference.

"Because I do believe we're all on the one side - we want to see the criminals beaten.

"But officials are dragging their feet when it comes to sorting out this problem and I hope they can get to grips with it."